Bastion of the World’s Waifs and Strays

A protester holds a picture of Edward Snowden, a former NSA contractor who leaked top-secret information about U.S. surveillance programs, outside the U.S. Consulate General in Hong Kong on June 13, 2013

NSA whistle-blower Edward Snowden is far from the first exile under a cloud to seek sanctuary in Hong Kong. The territory has a long legacy of harboring the oppressed and disaffected — from beleaguered emperors to left-wing dissidents and deposed heads of state. And while the fate of the 29-year-old former CIA employee currently hangs in the balance, history shows us that similar outcasts have both suffered and thrived while hiding in the territory. Here are nine prominent examples.